Presented by Eva Vida
Nancy Morris introduced Eva, even though she is familiar to most present. Eva is a past District Governor of 5550 (2010 -2012). She is a member of the Winnipeg – Downtown Club. The Rotary Foundation is the keystone of Rotary work.
Eva advised that she has been working with the foundation at the zone level for 5 years now. The Rotary Foundation has a history of over 100 years. It was initiated by Arch Klumph in 1917 with a donation of $26.50. The foundation works towards six goals;
- Maternal and child health
- Basic education and literacy
- Economic and community development
- Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Water and sanitation
The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The simple response is that the foundation is there to help you in the endeavours that you are interested in.
Eva had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala as part of a Rotary Global Grant project. The goal was to have every child attend school. Not every child is able to attend school. If they do not have a Birth Certificate they can not go to school. The project involved finding documentation for the children that were not attending. The records from the local Health Centre were investigated for the proper documents. Eva had a picture of an 11-year-old girl that was going to her first day of school due to the work that they were doing through the Global Grant.
The Rotary Foundation has been recognized for the outstanding performance of the fund. The Foundation has earned a five-star (highest) rating from Charity Navigator, the independent organization that rates non-profits. It has been in the Top 10 for the past 10 years. Last year The Rotary International Foundation was rated #1. The excellent stewardship is the reason for this success.
Polio Plus was started in 1985. We are extremely close to the eradication of polio. The distribution of the vaccine is proving difficult in the final areas that need service. This is due to remote locations, war… people getting shot and hurt trying to deliver the vaccine.
Bill and Melinda Gates have pledged to match donated funds 2 to 1 until 2021.
- Permanent Endowment Fund – This fund is professionally invested. Only the earnings are spent. The fund has $1.04 Billion in assets.
- Annual Fund - SHARE
Through the SHARE system, contributions to The Rotary Foundation are transformed into grants that fund local and international humanitarian projects, scholarships, and activities, such as vocational training teams. At the end of every Rotary year, contributions directed to the Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund, or DDF.
At the end of three years, your district can use the DDF to pay for foundation, club, and district projects that your club and others in the district choose. Districts may use up to half of their DDF to fund district grants. The remaining DDF may be used for global grants or donated to PolioPlus, the Rotary Peace Centers, or another district. Annual Fund – Rotary International invests donations for 3 years then returns the original donation to the giving club. These monies can be used for Local / District / International projects. This is a S.H.A.R.E. system. https://my.rotary.org/en/annual-fund-and-share
- District Grants – These are used for smaller projects (less than $30,000). A club can apply for a district grant only if the club has 2 or more members that have certification through training courses.
- Global Grants - $30,000 or more. The project must be sustainable after the Rotarians leave. The project being considered should be in response to the community needs. Eva showed a picture of a project supplying water to some of the houses in a community. This would be phase two of the project. The first phase was the supply of water and sanitation to the school or other community building.
Due to dollar matching, when a Rotarian donates $1 to the foundation there is a 7 times multiplier attached, due to Bill and Melinda Gates and the Canadian Government. The Canadian Government matching began in 2015. Last year the Canadian Government donated almost $1million. This year the government has paid over ½ million dollars. An example of this would be that if a club started a project through an International Global Grant with a donation of $10,000, the matching funds would make those dollars $65,000 in one year.
The Canadian government fund has $2,688,394 left in it to be used for matching donations.
There are three ways to give:
- Polio Plus
- Annual donation
- Endowment
Arrangements can be made for donations starting at $10.00/ month. This can be drawn from a credit card or bank account and be monthly / quarterly / annual.
Donor Recognition Levels
Every gift, big and small, is important to keep the work of The Rotary Foundation ongoing. The Rotary Foundation offers incentives for giving both in named recognition levels, and in Paul Harris Fellow points.
· Every Rotarian Every Year is an initiative that asks every Rotarian to support The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund every year at some level. All members are also encouraged to get involved in a foundation project or program.
Sustaining Member is a Rotarian who gives $100 or more to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Giving fund.
Paul Harris Fellow is a Rotarian who gives $1000 over his/her lifetime to Annual Giving. A “Multiple Paul Harris Fellow” is someone who gives a multiple of $1000 ($2000, $3000) over his/her lifetime.
Paul Harris Society recognizes those individuals who pledge a minimum of $1000 annually to Annual Giving, Polio Plus or approved Foundation grants. Fewer than 3 percent of Rotarians contribute at or above the level of $1000 per annum, yet these gifts represent over 35 percent of contributions to the Foundation’s Annual Fund.
Major Donor recognizes those individuals or couples who have given a cumulative total of $10,000 to The Rotary Foundation.
November is Rotary Foundation Month. Lead by example. Make Rotary International Foundation your charity of choice.
www.rotary.org
Catherine Moltzan thanked Eva for her presentation on behalf of the entire club. Catherine said that she had participated in the recent webinar for grant certification and she learned a lot. President Mandy also expressed her appreciation for her time to come out to our Club for this presentation.
Ed Thompson asked Jack Wilson and Margaret Hemphill to stand at the front of the meeting room with him. Jack Wilson sponsored Margaret for membership into the Rotary Club of Winnipeg – Charleswood. Ed Thompson read through the document as Jack gave Margaret the Rotary Wheel pin as well as presented her with a framed Certificate of Membership in the Charleswood Club. Ed made it clear that ‘service above self’ is the guiding belief in Rotary and hoped that Margaret will wear the Rotary pin with pride.